BC Journal of Ecosystems and Management Protecting wetland habitat in the

• Main Authors: Cypre Watershed, Planning Unit, Kate Mcnutt, Barbara Beasley, Margret Moeges
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.471.7447; http://jem.forrex.org/index.php/jem/article/download/246/165/

Harvesting old-growth forest is one of the activities that has strongly shaped the economic, social, and ecological landscapes of Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Clearcutting, which has been the dominant harvesting method, has changed the distribution and natural age classes of forests, altered drainage systems, and affected the visual appearance of the landscape. Growing discontent over the effects of harvesting old-growth forests came to a head in 1993 with widespread public opposition to the Clayoquot Land Use Decision. The provincial government sought an alternative approach to resolving these issues, and so convened the Clayoquot Sound Scientific Panel. The Panel’s recommen-dations for forest planning and practices—including the protection of wetland areas—were adopted, along with British Columbia’s Forest Practices Code in 1995. The latter was applied province-wide, whereas the Scientific Panel’s recommenda-tions for the protection of coastal ecosystems and First Nations ’ values were specific to Clayoquot Sound. In 1999, Iisaak Forest Resources Ltd. undertook planning to harvest timber in Clayoquot Sound. In keeping with the Scientific Panel’s principles, Iisaak voluntarily took steps to protect six small, unclassified, temperate rainforest wetlands in one of four cutblocks. The main objectives in protecting the wetlands were to maintain their ecosystem functions and to maintain linkages within and between the wetland areas. To achieve these and other objectives, Iisaak used variable retention and aerial harvesting methods in the summer of 2000.